Bulgaria has officially launched the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline with the welding of the first joint of the Bulgarian section at the Rasovo compressor station site. A 540-km linear section of the South Stream gas pipeline as well as 366 km of loop lines and three compressor stations will be constructed in Bulgaria. In November 2012 Gazprom and Bulgargaz signed a new long-term contract for Russian natural gas supply to Bulgaria. The document envisages annual gas supplies through 2022 in the amount of up to 2.9 bcm/year via the traditional gas transmission corridor, and once the South Stream gas pipeline is commissioned – via this new gas supply route. The 63 bcm/year gas pipeline is expected to be commissioned in 2015.
Source: Gazprom